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We are a married couple with a 2 year old hopign to have another child. Currently we live in Queens, NY but need to buy a house and are looking for an area with good schools, safe area, good commute to NYC and somehtign that wont break bank (budget of 350k). I like Short Hills and the area aroudn there but it is a bit expensive it seems. Any similar towns in our budget that anyone out there knows of?
Safe, OK commute to NYC, and mediocre schools in the "area around" Short Hills is possible for that budget (West Orange), the other problem would be property taxes.
We are a married couple with a 2 year old hopign to have another child. Currently we live in Queens, NY but need to buy a house and are looking for an area with good schools, safe area, good commute to NYC and somehtign that wont break bank (budget of 350k). I like Short Hills and the area aroudn there but it is a bit expensive it seems. Any similar towns in our budget that anyone out there knows of?
Thanks!
sorry, but short hills is way more expensive than 350k, many homes are 3.5m! i'm in south orange/maplewood, east of millburn/short hills, the schools are not great, but they're ok, and there are some homes in your budget, though taxes are insane. if you looked in soma, i'd recommend not looking by wilden/shu, unless you want your home to back the seton hall baseball field. west orange and montclair could be options, though the schools are not great.
i'd recommend looking towards northwestern essex county, though you'd have a bus commute in these towns. for example, there are options in your range in fairfield, though you'd have to watch for flooding and take lakeland bus.
You're probably looking at Central NJ around Edison, commute to NYC should be about an hour by NJ Transit. If it's too far go higher to Avenel, Rahway, and up to Linden. Any more North the neighborhood gets worse.
We are a married couple with a 2 year old hopign to have another child. Currently we live in Queens, NY but need to buy a house and are looking for an area with good schools, safe area, good commute to NYC and somehtign that wont break bank (budget of 350k). I like Short Hills and the area aroudn there but it is a bit expensive it seems. Any similar towns in our budget that anyone out there knows of?
Thanks!
Short Hills, is an area of million dollar mansions, no crime, excellent schools and reasonable commuting time to NYC. There is no town similar to this one in your budget. Not even remotely similar.
Commute: either Community Coach bus, shuttle to NJ Transit train, or drive to Harrison PATH train station.
It will be anywhere from a 1-hour to about 1.5-hour commute depending on what you take and where in Manhattan you work. World Trade Center? About 30 minute drive to PATH station, <25 minutes on the PATH train. Near the Port Authority? About an hour bus ride. Somewhere on the east side of Manhattan or way uptown? Count on adding at least 20 minutes for the walking/subway ride from Port Authority, Penn Station or PATH station.
House: $350,000 will get you a smaller, older house in Livingston, but there are listings in that range. For example:
Bonus: It's on a quiet street, yet still within walking distance to a bus stop. That's definitely a plus.
Obviously, the house isn't anything fancy or trendy or "charming" (a big buzz word on this forum). But that's what you're gonna get for $350,000 in most NJ towns (that are safe & have decent schools), that have housing stock in your budget range, and closer to Manhattan, whether North Jersey or Central Jersey.
Commute: either Community Coach bus, shuttle to NJ Transit train, or drive to Harrison PATH train station.
It will be anywhere from a 1-hour to about 1.5-hour commute depending on what you take and where in Manhattan you work. World Trade Center? About 30 minute drive to PATH station, <25 minutes on the PATH train. Near the Port Authority? About an hour bus ride. Somewhere on the east side of Manhattan or way uptown? Count on adding at least 20 minutes for the walking/subway ride from Port Authority, Penn Station or PATH station.
House: $350,000 will get you a smaller, older house in Livingston, but there are listings in that range. For example:
Bonus: It's on a quiet street, yet still within walking distance to a bus stop. That's definitely a plus.
Obviously, the house isn't anything fancy or trendy or "charming" (a big buzz word on this forum). But that's what you're gonna get for $350,000 in most NJ towns (that are safe & have decent schools), that have housing stock in your budget range, and closer to Manhattan, whether North Jersey or Central Jersey.
That house honestly isnt too bad, just needs some kind of landscaping, and an update to the kitchen. The problem is its small (1 bath) and doesnt have a basement. Now a basement for me isnt a deal killer if the rest of the house is big say 2200+ sq ft. That being said, the thing i would most worry about is buying the worst house in a town such as livingston.
If I were OP i would be looking in South Orange/Maplewood.
Edison may be a town to look at (has metropark, one of the better commutes to manhattan), Colonia also would be in your range... Yup Colonia, I'd go with Colonia first
That house honestly isnt too bad, just needs some kind of landscaping, and an update to the kitchen. The problem is its small (1 bath) and doesnt have a basement. Now a basement for me isnt a deal killer if the rest of the house is big say 2200+ sq ft. That being said, the thing i would most worry about is buying the worst house in a town such as livingston.
If I were OP i would be looking in South Orange/Maplewood.
Yeah, I hear what you're saying.
Livingston: Excellent schools, lower taxes, smaller/older houses in the $350,000 range.
SO/Ma: OK schools, higher taxes, more "charm", a happening downtown, train station, closer to Manhattan.
Actually, from what I hear, SO/Ma has a lot of NYC expats, and they rave about what SO/Ma has to offer.
OP has to prioritize their needs and make some trade offs, because YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT...
(But if you try sometimes
Well you just might find
You get what you need)
♪♫♬♪♫♬♪♫♬♪♫♬♪♫♬♪♫
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